Best Credit Card (2016-2021)

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iluvnascar
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by iluvnascar »

Well just get yourself a Rogers Cell phone. Their cell costs are no different than any of the other big boys.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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AltaRed wrote:Interesting card from Rogers. By no foreign transaction fees, does the fine print apply to all global currencies? I am not interested in forex re the USD as I have a USD card but would like to avoid forex with the Brit pound, Euro, And half a dozen other currencies.
The no forex Amazon.ca Visa has been discussed at length for the past few years.
It works with all currencies.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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Yes, I know of the Amazon Visa option and may consider it. I just hate Amazon in principle and how they impose themselves in many things including some software updates (have to uncheck boxes to avoid installation by default).
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Bylo Selhi
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Re: Best Credit Card

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AltaRed wrote:I just hate Amazon in principle and how they impose themselves in many things including some software updates (have to uncheck boxes to avoid installation by default).
You're blaming the wrong party.

Yes, Amazon pays software developers to offer their search bar as part of the software application installation process. But it's the software developers (and yes that means you Oracle with your Java updates) who try to trick the unsuspecting into inadvertently installing Amazon's software. Even so you should consider these attempts to sneak software onto your PC by stealthy means to be the price you pay for "free" software.
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AltaRed
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Re: Best Credit Card

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I still dislike Amazon anyway. Don't like their online purchase tactics and they don't always have the best prices either.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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iluvnascar wrote:The problem is that it is TOO good - and CIBC have just announced it is being cancelled. They are going to still me with a CIBC cash reward card which is similar to cards offered everywhere. No dice.....I'll just take a no fee basic CIBC card in order to keep my cash rewards live until I can use them.
Hey Nascar, I have a question about the bolded part.

I don't recall seeing that option in the letter I received from CIBC. Did you have to negotiate it?
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Bylo Selhi
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Re: Best Credit Card

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AltaRed wrote:Don't like their online purchase tactics
Please explain.
they don't always have the best prices either
When have they claimed that they do?

BTW Amazon is one of the best online merchants for customer service. For example, did you know that they pay for return shipping? Does your preferred online merchant?

Sure Amazon isn't perfect. No one is. Can you suggest an online merchant that's better than Amazon?

Besides, how many other online merchants can deliver a package to your door a week before it leaves their door? ;)
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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Descartes wrote:
iluvnascar wrote:I will replace the CIBC card with the MBNA card which gives you 2% cash back.
Are you sure? I have one (Smart Cash World) and its only 2% on gas and groceries up to a limit. 1% otherwise.
I received a phone call from MBNA and was approved. It is on the way. Verified the 2.0% rebate; and the $89 fee (waived 1st year). There are apparently 3 levels of cards in this series - the one I just had approved is called the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard. Here is boilerplate offer:


Approval Qualifications:
Your personal annual income must be greater than $70,000, or your household annual income must be $120,000 or greater††††

Little Wonders:
Earn 2 MBNA Rewards Points for every $1 in eligible purchases‡.
Receive 10,000 Bonus Points after your first eligible purchase††. That's a $100 value when redeemed for cash back.
No limit to the points that can be earned in a year and points don’t expire‡.
Get World Elite® benefits such as price protection** and concierge services**.
$89 annual fee (waived for the first year).
Additional Benefits:
Rental Vehicle Collision Damage Waiver Benefits**.
Purchase Assurance** - Covers eligible items purchased with your MBNA credit card for the first 90 days from the date of purchase.
Extended Warranty Benefits** - Doubles eligible warranties for up to one additional year on eligible purchases made with your MBNA credit card.
Travel Benefits* - Lost Document and Ticket Replacement, Lost Luggage Assistance, Legal Assistance.
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by kcowan »

I don't buy anything at amazon but I love their Chase card. OK let me see: Rogers credit or Chase Visa credit? :thumbsup:
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Re: Best Credit Card

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Bylo wrote
Besides, how many other online merchants can deliver a package to your door a week before it leaves their door? ;)
:?: HUH.
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AltaRed
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Re: Best Credit Card

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Bylo, there have been bad many reviews on some of their products, especially cell phones that may not even work on this continent. I have looked at many of their offerings in this area. A lot of buyer beware from reviews I have read regarding a number of their heavily discounted items.

I was simply making a statement about them not always having lowest prices. Never commented that they claimed to do so. Don't put words in my mouth that I never said.

Free return shipping is clearly a bonus, but I dont buy anything that should need returning anyway. If I cannot precisely identify what i need by validating the model, etc of the product from another source, I don't buy online in the first place.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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AltaRed wrote:Bylo, there have been bad many reviews on some of their products, especially cell phones that may not even work on this continent. I have looked at many of their offerings in this area. A lot of buyer beware from reviews I have read regarding a number of their heavily discounted items.
Amazon offers much more than stuff like cell phones sold by small outfits in China that don't meet Canadian specs. I agree that buying that sort of stuff can be a crap shoot.

But Amazon also sells—in fact they primarily sell—the same merchandise that's sold in regular bricks and mortar stores. Indeed they have a vastly greater selection of that merchandise than you'll find at even the largest shopping mall. Much of that stuff is name brand and comes with a valid-in-Canada warranty. Buying this sort of merchandise from Amazon is no different than buying it from a local store. Most of the time, but not always, this merchandise is cheaper on Amazon. For some it's also more convenient to buy online and get it delivered to your door at no additional charge.

As for reviews, yes you have to take them with a grain of salt. But in my experience it's rare that an item with many high ratings doesn't deserve them. Conversely an item with low ratings is probably worth avoiding. Actually I find Amazon reviews worthwhile mostly to learn about unadvertised "features" (or "bugs") that buyers have encountered once they began to use the product. For example a coffee maker that gets excellent overall reviews. But reading some of the comments from people who gave low ratings indicates that refilling the water and coffee bean reservoirs is an awkward process. Others mention that the carafe has a relatively small opening making it hard to insert a hand to wash, etc. You're not likely to get that sort of information by examining a box on the shelf of a bricks and mortar store or asking a staffer (if you can find one.)
I was simply making a statement about them not always having lowest prices. Never commented that they claimed to do so. Don't put words in my mouth that I never said.
I'm not aware of any store that always has the lowest price, advertising claims notwithstanding. (Remember Zellers' "lowest price is the law?" Was it really? Does anyone still remember Zellers? ;)) That's why I asked.
Free return shipping is clearly a bonus, but I dont buy anything that should need returning anyway. If I cannot precisely identify what i need by validating the model, etc of the product from another source, I don't buy online in the first place.
I fully agree with that sentiment. All too many people "rent" stuff for "evaluation" and "comparison" by exploiting stores' generous return policies. But sometimes one buys something that's DOA, doesn't fit, doesn't match the description, or turns out to be unsuitable for reasons that weren't obvious from its description, etc. In those cases a no-hassle prepaid return policy is very valuable. I view that as an insurance policy that's come to my rescue of more than one occasion.
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big easy
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Re: Best Credit Card

Post by big easy »

AltaRed wrote:I still dislike Amazon anyway. Don't like their online purchase tactics and they don't always have the best prices either.
Not to mention the Paul Bernardo book and another whose (or is it who's) author escapes me.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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I'm not crazy about the way they handle the Kindle forcing you to buy the books and not be able to borrow them from a library. However, the stock does well. :)
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AltaRed
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Re: Best Credit Card

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Obviously took the topic off on a tangent. FWIW, I don't want the Rogers card either. I've been on a legacy talk and text contract with them with my old flip phone for 8 years or so.... Time to upgrade the phone and change providers too.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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tedster wrote:I'm not crazy about the way they handle the Kindle forcing you to buy the books and not be able to borrow them from a library. However, the stock does well. :)
I have borrowed several library books on my Kindle. Look into the Calbre program (Ottawa library uses non-Kindle compatible overdrive files, using Calibre with a DRM stripping add-on allows one to read the borrowed books on Kindle.)

On customer service, Amazon provided me with perhaps my most positive WTF customer experience ever. A few years ago I was gifted a Kindle by a US company after giving a talk at. One Sunday it died on me (would not charge) after googling the issue I knew it was pretty much a dead device, but I called Amazon with nothing to lose (But not expecting much since I had no record of purchase). After walking through the issue they said they would send me a replacement. Monday afternoon the replacement arrived with a pre-paid box for return, the kicker was my replacement was fully loaded with the books on my dead Kindle!
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Re: Best Credit Card

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chufinora wrote:the kicker was my replacement was fully loaded with the books on my dead Kindle!
The books are not tied to the physical Kindle, like the one that died on you, but to your Kindle account. After you sign on, using your Kindle user ID and password, on any device (including Kindle for PC), the content will appear automatically on the new device, downloaded from the Kindle servers.
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Re: Best Credit Card

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adrian2 wrote:The books are not tied to the physical Kindle, like the one that died on you, but to your Kindle account.
The same applies with other similar systems. For example Google Play Books lets you store books in the cloud that you can read from any Android or Windows (et al) system linked to your account. I read books on various devices ranging from a 5" smartphone to a 46" smart TV. Better still Play remembers where I am in each book so I can start reading on the smartphone, continue where I left off on a Windows notebook, continue on the TV, etc. These are some of the many advantages of e-books over paper books.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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Verified the 2.0% rebate; and the $89 fee (waived 1st year). There are apparently 3 levels of cards in this series - the one I just had approved is called the MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard.
Thanks for the clarification.

If you compare Rogers 1.75% (no fee) with this ($89 after 1st year) then you've got to spend more than $35,600 on the MBNA credit card annually for it to be the better choice.

While I spend more than that annually on credit cards most of it is covered by my use of Tangerine and MBNA Smart Cash which are both no fee and at 2%:
I use Tangerine to get 2% on groceries (which includes Walmart Superstores and gift cards for other items), restaurants, and home improvement and MBNA Smart Cash (no fee) for 2% on gas.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

Post by iluvnascar »

It's quite amazing how you can take advantage of various and sundry offers to pick up some "free money". A competitive game that I enjoy....and that pays off.

After losing my CIBC Drivers' Edge card, I'll actually be regularly using 3 cards. I'll have the Rogers card which will be used just for paying my Rogers Bill - that makes it a no-fee card; and I will use the card for any foreign purchases. We do the majority of our grocery shopping at Loblaws (and Shoppers Drug on "Seniors' day"!); and we will use our no-fee PC World Elite Mastercard which gives us 3% back in points usable on grocery purchases. And I will have the MBNA card giving 2% back on everything else. I hate the fee....but with a waiver the 1st year; and a $100 bonus on the 1st purchase....it won't concern me too much. I'll probably spend $50K+ per year on the card so $89 is doable for me.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

Post by Thegipper »

CIBC ended the Driver's Edge card. From inception [2002] I have received $13000 in cash rebates on vehicle and boat purchases. I now use three cards Westjet RBC Elite, Costco MC and Amazon. We take about three flights a year and the Westjet card fits in nicely. As regular Costco customers their card provides real value. I spend 5 months in the USA and the Amazon card serves me well for that period of time.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

Post by jeremy »

If anyone else is interested in the 2% cashback MBNA Rewards World Elite Mastercard, note that you can get an additional $60 cash back by applying through Great Canadian Rebates. That is in addition to the 10,000 points = $100 you get from MBNA and no annual fee for the first year.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

Post by Descartes »

It IS interesting and profitable how you can exploit the credit cards available.

Like choosing between investments, the best choice of credit card(s) is not simple - it depends on your personal situation: in this case your anticipated spending habits and whether you meet the qualifications for the various offerings ..and your tolerance for applying for and using multiple cards.

For both investing and spending, I feel it pays to spend a little time researching and thinking about it.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

Post by AltaRed »

Having too many credit cards and switching too often impacts one's credit score, although anyone with a stellar score likely doesn't care anyway.
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Re: Best Credit Card 2016

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ig17 wrote:
iluvnascar wrote:The problem is that it is TOO good - and CIBC have just announced it is being cancelled. They are going to still me with a CIBC cash reward card which is similar to cards offered everywhere. No dice.....I'll just take a no fee basic CIBC card in order to keep my cash rewards live until I can use them.
Hey Nascar, I have a question about the bolded part.

I don't recall seeing that option in the letter I received from CIBC. Did you have to negotiate it?
Based on several phone discussions - and I will have a face-to-face shortly - I'm told that CIBC decided to replace the Drivers' Edge with one that they thought best matched the Drivers' edge. But they also said that I could go to ANY CIBC card....and having ANY CIBC card and using it occasionally would "keep the account in good standing" thereby allowing me to hang on to me earned points until I can use them a couple of years from now. That's what I will be doing - getting a "no fee" CIBC card and using it occasionally.
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